Building insulation system

ABSTRACT

The building insulation system includes a reflective, non-porous bag filled with thermal insulation material. The covering of the bag is made from reflective polymeric facer or plastic, which facilitates reflection of thermal energy radiation. The reflective non-porous bag provides a thermal barrier for conduction, convection and radiation aspects of thermal energy transfer.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/548,099, filed Oct. 17, 2011.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to building construction systems, andparticularly to a building insulation system that provides improvedinsulation for maintaining more moderate temperatures and reducingenergy costs.

2. Description of the Related Art

Typical building insulation does not have the capacity to provide thefull range of thermal barriers against different sources of thermalenergy. For insulation to perform as well as possible, the insulationshould be able to cope with three forms of thermal transfer, viz.;conduction, convection and radiation. The national and worldwideR-values for insulation are generally based upon only one form of heattransfer, viz., conduction. However, conduction only represents about10% of the total thermal forces acting on a building, the remainingthermal forces being about 25% for convection and about 65% forradiation. Percentages may vary due to differences in climate zones.Thus, insulation with a high R-value provides excellent thermal break orbarrier for conduction, but with no regard to convection and radiation.With about 90% of the thermal energy contributors not being taken intoaccount in typical building insulation, this highlights the extent ofthermal inefficiencies existing in homes and other buildings. As aconsequence, these inefficiencies contribute to the high costs ofheating and cooling a building.

In light of the above, it would be a benefit in the building arts toprovide insulation having more efficient thermal protection in order toreduce energy costs. Thus, a building insulation system solving theaforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The building insulation system includes a reflective, non-porous bagfilled with thermal insulation material. The covering of the bag is madefrom reflective polymeric facer or plastic, which facilitates reflectionof thermal energy radiation. The reflective non-porous bag provides athermal barrier for conduction, convection and radiation aspects ofthermal energy transfer.

These and other features of the present invention will become readilyapparent upon further review of the following specification anddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of a building insulationsystem according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective of a reflective non-porous bag forming a part ofa building insulation system according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a section view drawn along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a reflective non-porous bag forming apart of a building insulation system according to the present invention,shown with sealing material being applied when the bag is cut to sizeduring installation.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a reflective non-porous bag forming apart of a building insulation system according to the present invention,shown with sealing material being applied to an angled or beveled cutend of the bag.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of areflective non-porous bag forming a part of a building insulation systemaccording to the present invention, the bag having a cover tab.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistentlythroughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The building insulation system, generally referred to by the referencenumber 10, is configured to provide a thermal break for all three formsof thermal energy in a domicile or building. As shown in FIGS. 1-3, thebuilding insulation system 10 includes a reflective, non-porous bag 20filled with insulation material 24.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the covering 22 for thenon-porous bag 20 can be made from a reflective polymeric facer orplastic, e.g., polyester or other polymeric sheet material withreflective metal mixed therein, similar to Mylar (Mylar is a registeredtrademark of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company of Wilmington, Del.).The covering 22 completely encapsulates both opposing faces, bothopposing sides, and both opposing ends of the bag 20 to provide anon-porous barrier that reflects thermal energy from the surface facingthe outer wall or siding, i.e., the surface facing the environment, andalso reflects thermal energy from the interior of the domicile. As aconsequence, the radiated thermal energy from the interior remainssubstantially within the domicile, while the radiated thermal energyfrom the outside is reflected back. Thus, the covering 22 minimizesthermal energy loss within the domicile, which is especially beneficialfor heating and reducing the costs thereof The covering 22 can beprovided in single-ply or in multiple-ply construction,

The insulation material 24 can be any one of, or a combination of,thermal insulation materials selected from fiberglass, cellulose,rockwool, expanded polystyrene, and others. Some of the polystyreneproducts can be constructed from recycled materials. The insulationmaterial 24 forms a core within the bag 20 that minimizes the conductionaspect of thermal energy transfer. Some insulation materials may producepotential health issues due to fibers, dust, off gassing along withother concerns. However, since the material is sealed within thecovering 22, any potential hazards from the insulation material areeliminated or potentially are significantly reduced.

In use, the building insulation system 10 can be installed insubstantially the same manner as typical wall insulation. As shown inFIG. 1, each reflective non-porous bag 20 can be provided in standardsizes that fit between adjacent studs 12. The sizes may range from 2ft.(w)×8 ft.(h)×3.5 in.(t), to 2 ft.(w)×12 ft. (h)×5.5 in. (t), where“w” refers to the width, “h” refers to the height and “t” refers to thethickness. Other sizes may be provided as desired or needed by the user.Due to the non-porous nature of the bag 20, a complete installation in adomicile or building forms an envelope that helps to prevent thermalenergy transfer through convection.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, these figures show how to maintain thenon-porous characteristic of the bag 20 in the event one or both of theends have to be cut to size and/or shape. In general, it is oftennecessary to cut insulation down to size and/or shape the same duringinstallation of the insulation. However, this practice would compromisethe non-porous integrity of the bag 20. In order to insure that the bag20 is sealed, a wrap 30 in the shape of a cap or sleeve can be providedto fit the cut end of the bag 20, thereby capping the cut end of the bag20. Then the cap is sealed with adhesives or by tape 34. An alternativewrap 32 can be used for angled or beveled cut ends, such as forinsulation on the rafters, ceilings and gables. The wraps 30, 32 arepreferably of the same construction as the reflective, non-porous bag20.

An alternative embodiment of a reflective, non-porous bag 120 is shownin FIG. 6. In this embodiment, the bag 120 is configured to provide acontinuous moisture/vapor barrier behind the interior wall. This type ofprotection can be necessary in some areas where building codes require amoisture/vapor barrier behind the interior wall and not at the exteriorwall, or in retrofit installations where there is no moisture/vaporbarrier in the wall assembly. As shown, the bag 120 includes an outercovering 122 filled with insulation material 24 in substantially thesame manner as the previously described bag 20. In addition, the bag 120includes a surrounding cover tab or flange 126. The cover tab 126 can beconstructed from the same reflective and non-porous material as thecovering 22 or outer covering 122. In use, the cover tab 126 overlaps orcovers the adjacent studs 12 and the headers and footers of a wallassembly on the side of the interior wall to thereby provide amoisture/vapor barrier. As with the bag 20, the bag 120 can be cut tosize, e.g., as at the cut line 125 shown in FIG. 6, and resealed with acap 30, 32 and tape 34.

The cover tab 126 can be provided in several ways. For example, thecover tab 126 can be an integral face side of the overall bag 120, i.e.,the cover tab 126 can be constructed by outwardly extending one of theface sides of the covering 122. In another example, the cover tab 126can extend from the sides, i.e., the top, bottom, and lateral sides ofthe bag 120. In a still further example, the cover tab 126 can be aseparate sheet adhered to or attached to one of the faces of the bag120.

Thus, it can be seen that the thermal insulation properties of thebuilding insulation system 10 counteracts conduction, convection andradiation aspects of thermal energy transfer. The non-porous insulatedenvelope in a domicile maintains moderate interior temperatures at acomfortable level with minimal heating/cooling energy expenditure andcosts. Moreover, the non-porous nature of the bag 20, 120 helps toprevent moisture from developing.

It is to be understood that the building insulation system 10encompasses a variety of alternatives. For example, the bag 20, 120 canbe provided in a variety of different custom shapes to fit variousarchitectural designs, Moreover, select locations thereof can beperforated as deemed necessary by the user to provide limitedbreathability.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to theembodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodimentswithin the scope of the follow claims.

We claim:
 1. A building insulation system, comprising at least onereflective, non-porous bag adapted to be installed between adjacentstuds in a building wall, the at least one bag having: a reflective,non-porous outer covering disposed over the entire bag; and insulationmaterial disposed inside the at least one bag; whereby, the bag providesa thermal barrier for conduction, radiation and convection factors ofthermal energy transfer.
 2. The building insulation system according toclaim 1, wherein said non-porous outer covering comprises reflectivepolymeric plastic material for reflecting thermal energy.
 3. Thebuilding insulation system according to claim 2, wherein said reflectivepolymeric plastic material comprises polymeric sheet material withreflective metal mixed therein.
 4. The building insulation systemaccording to claim 1, wherein said insulation material comprises atleast one material selected from a group consisting of fiberglass,cellulose, rockwool, expanded polystyrene, and recycled materials. 5.The building insulation system according to claim 2, further comprisinga wrap for capping a cut end of said bag.
 6. The building insulationsystem according to claim 5, further comprising at least one adhesivestrip for sealing said wrap around said cut end of said bag.
 7. Thebuilding insulation system according to claim 1, wherein said non-porousouter covering comprises reflective polymeric plastic material forreflecting thermal energy, the system further comprising a cover flangesurrounding a periphery of said bag, the cover flange being adapted forcovering adjacent studs, headers and footers of a wall frame to therebyprovide a moisture/vapor barrier.
 8. A method of forming an energyefficient thermal barrier within a building, the method comprising thesteps of: providing at least one reflective, non-porous bag adapted tobe installed between adjacent studs in a building wall and insulationmaterial disposed inside the at least one bag, the at least one baghaving a reflective, non-porous outer covering disposed over the entirebag; and installing the at least one reflective, non-porous bag in wallframes in order to form a thermal barrier in the building maintaining adesired comfort temperature level.
 9. The method of forming an energyefficient thermal barrier according to claim 8, wherein said non-porousouter covering comprises reflective polymeric plastic for reflectingthermal energy.
 10. The method of forming an energy efficient thermalbarrier according to claim 9, further comprising the steps of: cuttingat least one end of said reflective, non-porous bag to size the same fora particular wall frame; providing a wrap to cover the cut end of saidbag; and sealing the wrap around the cut end with an adhesive strip. 11.The method of forming an energy efficient thermal barrier according toclaim 9, further comprising the step of providing a cover flangesurrounding a periphery of said bag, the cover flange being adapted forcovering adjacent studs, headers and footers of the wall frame tothereby provide a moisture/vapor barrier.